Coming off a clean sweep over Mid-Buchanan (19-15-3) in the opening round of the Class 2 District 16 Tournament, the West Platte volleyball team (15-11-4) stunned top-seeded Bishop LeBlond (24-8-2) in four sets in the semifinals at East Buchanan High School on Oct. 24.
The Lady Blue Jays were swept by the Lady Eagles in the regular season on Oct. 6 and the No. 1 seed entered the Class 2 District 16 Semifinals with four consecutive wins and a 14-2-1 record in the month, but that didn’t matter. All four sets were tight with West Platte winning all but the second one in the postseason matchup.
In set one, West Platte took a 15-11 margin at the halfway mark before coming out with a 25-19 victory. LeBlond bounced back to tie the match in set two when it erased a 13-6 deficit to come out on top, 25-21.
With the third set giving the winner the edge in the match, the Lady Blue Jays didn’t let the blown lead in the prior set phase them as they scored three of the last four points to pull out a 25-23 win. West Platte took that momentum into the fourth set to eliminate the top-seed, 25-19.
Libby Vandel had a solid all-around match, ending with 19 kills, three aces and three blocks. Maddison McMillan dished out 37 assists and Ahlanna Rutherford added 16 digs.
The West Platte volleyball team huddles up in the 3-0 sweep over Mid-Buchanan two days before taking down top-seeded Bishop LeBlond on Oct. 24.
In the opening round, West Platte took on KCI rival Mid-Buchanan and it came out with a sweep. In the first set, the Lady Blue Jays scored the first nine points and took a comfortable 15-3 lead before winning the set 25-12.
The second set was more competitive, with it being tied at 13 and 15 midway through. The set went down to the wire with the Lady Blue Jays pulling out a 25-23 win – scoring the final four points – to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
West Platte set the tone in the third match with a 12-6 lead before closing the match out on top, 25-15. The victory gave the Lady Blue Jays their third consecutive win over the Lady Dragons, and it was West Platte’s first sweep over Mid-Buchanan since Oct. 27, 2020.
Vandel also had a stellar opening match performance, ending with 14 digs and two aces. Arianna Nower had 15 kills, Cosette Clark had two blocks and McMillan had 34 assists.
For the second straight season, West Platte advanced to the district championship match to take on East Buchanan (28-5-1). The Lady Blue Jays were 0-4-1 in the last five matchups with the Lady Bulldogs – including a 3-0 loss in last season’s district championship – and were scheduled to take on East Buchanan at its home court on Oct. 25.